Thursday, May 30, 2013

I have a laundry list of bucket list activities that are cluttering up my thoughts. I decided I will write them down and add to the list as time goes on. Take a peak into some of the things I want to accomplish and a lot of things I already have accomplished:

Bucket List

be in two places at once (yes, like a walk to remember)

visit my brother in Tokyo

go to the kuroshio sea (picture below)

swim in all five oceans (only three more to go)

rent scooters in paris, france like the olsen twins did in passport to paris

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Peak week has once again proven to challenge my baking skills. The past few days, I have been quite the little baker. All protein packed (duh, carb brain), vegetarian, and delicious. Below are the recipes for cinnamon protein bars, tofu fries, and black/white protein pancakes. Pictures are respectively in order. Enjoy.

Tofu Fries
Press half a block of tofu for about half an hour (I have a super simple tofu press, you can find them anywhere). Slice the pressed tofu into strips and lay on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle whatever seasoning you want- I used chipotle pepper. Bake on each side for 12 minutes at 375 degrees. 140 calories with 14 grams of protein and 4 carbs per serving.

Unfortunately, this Memorial Day Weekend was extremely cold and rainy. We made the best of it, however, and went down to Columbus to take Jeremy's siblings to the zoo and to spend some time with them. The kids absolutely loved the zoo (shh, I think I loved it more than them).

My favorite part was obviously the big cats, however, we also got to see my favorite non-cat animals: bats and snakes. Yea I'm a freak, judge me.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

There are fewer things more important in life than personal and self growth. Being able to see personal growth and accomplishments is one of the most rewarding aspects of achieving a goal. I am a firm believer in celebrating personal wins when attaining a goal because each personal win is equivalent to accomplishing a portion of the ultimate goal.

This past year, I have completely embraced the yoga lifestyle and have immersed myself in the practice of balance and centering.

Last night at yoga, I mastered a position that I was having a bit of trouble with for a long time. Crane. Words can hardly describe the joy that I felt when I lifted my feet off the ground and was able to maintain the pose for entire breathing session.

My goal in my non-show season is to concentrate heavily on more difficult poses and progressing in my yoga practice.

This past weekend was extremely hectic for me, but I absolutely love being busy.

Friday night, Jeremy and I went to a new sushi bistro right by the University of Toledo and the menu was awesome! The bistro offered a wide range of sushi options (three different vegetarian rolls) and they also had bar food which was perfect for Jeremy. Afterwards, we went to apricato which is a self-serve yogurt shop that allows you to mix and match your flavors and pile on your toppings. Prices determined by weight. Luckily, they had a watermelon sorbet that was dairy free that I was able to enjoy. Topped with strawberries and almonds- it was fantastic!

Saturday morning, Chelsea and I went to the gym to lift legs and do light HIIT. Prior to our workout, I made berry protein pop tarts that turned out AMAZING (first picture below).

Saturday afternoon, Jessica and I attended a meeting at the humane society so I could sign up for volunteering at summer camps. She absolutely fell in love with every single animal there. There is a one-eyed kitten that is currently up for adoption that I will be bringing into our family if he is not adopted by June 2. Yes his name will be Jerry.

On Sunday morning, Jessica, Cassie, and I volunteered at the humane society's annual Bark in the Park event. This was held at the humane society and through sponsors and individual donations, $46,000 was raised to help save animals. This was an incredible accomplishment.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Training has led me to become quite the cooking fanatic. Eating 100 grams of protein a day for a vegetarian isn't impossible to hit but it certainly is difficult. Breakfast this morning had almost 40 grams of protein and it tasted amazing.

Be warned- despite the fact that there is no added or artificial sugar in this recipe, the outcome is extremely sweet and extremely filling. The one mason jar has turned into breakfast and my first snack of the day. 413 calories with 39 grams of protein (your macros will vary dependent on protein used, etc).

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

My tofu twin and I killed legs last night. Glutes, quads, calves, and hamstrings were on FIRE last night during our lifting session. There are fewer things more empowering than blasting through a workout and feeling stronger than you ever have before.

During our time in Columbus this past weekend, we went on the hunt for vegan restaurants that were local. We were lucky enough to stumble upon a 100% vegan bakery on Ohio State's campus called "Pattycakes".

Everything in the bakery was 100% vegan, organic, and gluten free.

Chels and I shared a lemon cupcake. We also purchased an Everything Oatmeal cookie and each bought a blueberry muffin that was voted best muffin in Columbus.

Monday, May 13, 2013

This past Saturday, I competed in my first NPC show... EVER. The experience was unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life!

The Mike Francois 2013 Classic was held in Westerville, OH on May 11, 2013. Chelsea, Jeremy, and I traveled down on Friday night for pre-registration at a local gym. After I was registered and had my number (159), we went back to Jeremy's dads house to spend the night.

[time-out]

Rewind ourselves back in time for a moment. The tanning process began on Thursday night when Jeremy put my first coat of pro tan on. Chels and I went to get our nails done Friday morning and I packed everything up that day. The pro tan is not the easiest thing in the world to put on and parts of my arms were blotchy. I scrubbed two layers of skin off and we started over at Jeremy's dads house with tan. At about midnight on Friday, four coats later, my tan was complete.

[time-in]

6:30 am: Saturday morning, the make up and hair began. Extra tanner was also applied prior to leaving for the school

I could not have been more proud of myself. Nor could I have made it without the help of my friends and family and especially Chelsea and Jeremy. The judges provided me with incredible feedback and I can't wait to kill these next few weeks of training and step on stage with my best friend on June 1 in Dayton, OH.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Relaxing on the beach in your mind while sitting in the office on your lunch break is not so simple.

Yesterday during lunch, the company brought in a hypnotist for destressing purposes. The hypnotism reminded me a lot of meditation and it was very easy for me to tap into my subconscious during the session. The 30 minutes of pure relaxation put me in a place between being asleep and being awake and relieved a lot of tension from stress.

Some of the most relaxing moments, for me, are walking in the woods behind work. The trails are beautiful and its a simple way to detox and release energy.

After work, I went to spin class and sat in the sauna before having dinner, tanning, and doing posing practice. The final days are slowly beginning to fill up with activities in final prep.

This morning after my final lift session, I concocted pumpkin pie protein pancakes.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Saturday was the Pittsburgh IFBB
and NPC showdown on the campus of the University of Pitt.

Chelsea and I left in the morning
after cardio and planned it so we could have a late lunch at an all vegan
restaurant.

We ordered two entrees to split. We
order a broccoli dish with broccoli, peppers, onions, soy protein slivers, and
a light ginger sauce. Our second was baked tofu and eggplant with the light
ginger sauce. Both were absolutely incredible. Can only hope toledo catches on
soon and starts opening more restaurants like this (it was called The Loving
Hut).

We then went to our hotel, checked
in, and went exploring. We went to Trader Joes and found some incredible post
show treats. The atmosphere is incredible, so many people walking around and
biking.

The show and expo were incredible!!
We got there at 6 and walked around and picked up samples before going in to
watch the show. The men were incredible but then women were breathtaking.

On one of our bathroom breaks, yes
we went through five water bottles, we ran in to some of the most influential
people in the body building industry.

We were privileged enough to meet
India Paulino who won the arnold classic this year. We then saw Nicole Wilkins
and we stopped and asked her for any advice she could give us. The tips she
gave us will most definitely come in handy on Saturday.

We then met Joey and Arvin who are
promoters/users/advocates of the entire Shredz supplement line. Arvin is the
CEO as well, on top of being on jersey shore haha. Meeting them was extremely
inspiring as well as beneficial.

Upon exiting the event, we were
stopped by a promoter of a fairly new supplement line. He informed us that they
were giving away $500 baskets full of supplements and the winner didn't show up
for the woman's basket. Needless to say, he handed us the entire basket along
with shirts and a business card to let him know how we enjoy the
supplements.